At a recent meeting in Cleveland, Ohio with Vice President Joe Biden, Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Karen Mills and officials from 12 other banks, M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB) reaffirmed its commitment to small business owners, pledging to increase lending by $50 million above 2010 levels for each of the next three years.

M&T is currently the sixth largest Small Business Administration lender in the nation, the third largest east of the Mississippi, and the number one SBA lender in many of its markets, including Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

M&T’s commitment will support the growth of small businesses, including those in the following underserved markets: low-to-moderate income (LMI) communities, empowerment zones and enterprise communities, new business start-ups, minority owned businesses, and micro businesses (annual revenues less than $1 million) in addition to expanding lending to other members of the small business community.

“During times when there have been concerns about the challenges of obtaining credit, our record of prudence and performance has made it possible for M&T to continue to lend to its customers,” said Robert G. Wilmers, Chairman and CEO of M&T Bank.

In 2010, M&T made some 139,000 new loans, totaling $17 billion in value, and representing a five percent increase over the $16 billion in 2009 loan originations. Some 8,250 of these new loans went to small businesses.

M&T’s Banking Built for Business product is a customizable bundle of services that delivers value, convenience and the attention small business owners need, while saving them time and money.

“One of our most important roles is to work with small business owners and entrepreneurs to consistently provide them with both capital and sound advice needed to operate their businesses and create jobs,” said Janet Coletti, M&T’s senior vice president of business banking. “We view the Small Business Administration (SBA) as a key partner in our effort to provide more capital to business owners.”

M&T Bank, founded in 1856, is one of the top 20 independent commercial bank holding companies in the nation, with $77.7 billion in assets and more than 770 branches and 2,000 ATMs in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, the District of Columbia and Ontario, Canada. Read more about M&T Bank at www.mtb.com/newsroom.